Ebola outbreak a global health emergency, says WHO

The Ebola epidemic in West Africa has been described by experts as a global health emergency requiring a coordinated international approach.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said if the infection spread internationally the consequences could be serious considering the “virulence of the virus, the intensive community and health facility transmission patterns, and the weak health systems in the currently affected and most at-risk countries”.

The countries most affected by the outbreak are Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone. So far more than 960 people have died from the Ebola outbreak in West Africa this year.